Daniil Medvedev booed for unacceptable Ash Barty interview blunder

Daniil Medvedev has antagonised Aussie crowds all tournament and butchered his chance to earn some goodwill with an Ash Barty blunder.

Jim Courier set Daniil Medvedev up for the easiest overhead smash of his career but he thumped it right into the net.

The Russian tennis star is intent on continuing to play the villain at this year’s Australian Open after causing more headlines during a furious four-set semi-final win over Stefanos Tsitsipas on Friday night.

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The favourite at Melbourne Park unloaded on the chair umpire and accused Tsitsipas of illegally receiving on-court coaching, but he had calmed down by the time he romped through the fourth set and joined Courier on court for the standard post-match interview.

Medvedev has had a rough relationship with Aussie crowds this past fortnight. He accused fans in Melbourne of having a “low IQ” after some raucous behaviour in his second-round win over Nick Kyrgios and earlier this week trolled everyone by saying he channelled his inner Novak Djokovic to fight his way through a tough quarter-final against Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Courier wanted Medvedev to earn some goodwill in the Victorian capital, so set him up with an easy way to score some brownie points with the locals by asking if he would watch Aussie Ash Barty’s final against Danielle Collins on Saturday night.

It was the perfect set-up but Medvedev faltered in his initial response, before recovering once he realised the error of his ways.

Medvedev has done his best to alienate the crowd at the Australian Open. (Photo by Aaron Francis / AFP)

Courier: I want to ask you, tomorrow (Saturday) is a day off, but will you take a peek at Ash Barty and Danielle Collins — the women’s final? That’s going to be a pretty good one.

Medvedev: Ah, it depends what time they’re playing.

Courier: 7.30pm.

Medvedev: 7.30pm? I’m usually going to dinner at 8.15pm, so I’m going to watch the beginning of the match and then follow the live score.

Courier: Come on, man. I’m trying to set you up to win this crowd over and you’re just kicking it!

Medvedev: I’m going to watch it on my phone, guys. I’m going to watch it.

Courier: There you go!

Medvedev: Thanks Jim, thanks.

Saying he would go to dinner rather than watch Barty’s final was unacceptable to sections of the pro-Aussie crowd, who booed the world No. 2 in jest. But Medvedev turned those jeers into cheers when he backtracked and, with a smile, said he would watch the decider on his phone, even if he was busy eating.

Barty is seeking her third career grand slam title after winning the 2019 French Open and 2021 Wimbledon crown. The popular Queenslander is the first Australian woman to make the final of her home slam since Wendy Turnbull in 1980 and if she beats Collins, will become the first Aussie female to hold up the singles trophy Down Under since Chris O’Neil in 1978.

All of Australia will be cheering for Ash Barty. (Photo by Recep Sakar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Medvedev is shooting for back-to-back major titles after upsetting Novak Djokovic in last year’s US Open final.

Like in New York last September, when he stopped Djokovic from completing a calendar Grand Slam of titles, Medvedev will be trying to derail Rafael Nadal’s tilt at making men’s tennis history after the Spaniard qualified for the final by beating Matteo Berrettini.

“I’m going to play against one of the greatest and someone going for the 21st slam,” Medvedev said. “I’m ready, I know that Rafa is a very strong player and I need to show my best to try and win this match.”

But Nadal said the Australian Open title meant more to him than a record 21 career grand slams.

“For me at the end it’s about more than all these statistics, it’s about being in the final of the Australian Open one more time. That means a lot to me,” Nadal said.

“To me it’s more important to be in the final of the Australian Open and fight to win another Australian Open than the rest of the statistics for the history of the sport.

“I just feel happy to be part of this amazing era of tennis, sharing all these things with another two players.

“That’s it. In some ways it doesn’t matter if somebody achieve one more or one less.”

With AFP